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“We will change it.”
“How?”
“I will tell her the truth,” he said simply.
“She will not believe you. I am a harpy, did you not know it?” Bitterness slipped from my tongue, and it was not an attractive sound. I didn’t like the way I felt or the things I was saying. I closed my eyes and ran my fingers over my eyelids, pushing away the oncoming headache. “Forgive my loose tongue, James. I am nervous for the dancing tomorrow, and it is causing me to say things I shouldn’t.”
“You needn’t apologize to me. It seems there is a conversation I must have with my mother after all.”
“No,” I said, grabbing his forearm. “Please do not. Things are uncomfortable enough as it is between us, and I do not think it will matter what you say to her. Her mind is made up on the matter.”
“But you are innocent of what she accuses you of.” His voice held more fire than I expected, and his defense of my character was a boon to my spirits.
“Indeed, but you and I both know that, so what does it matter?” I sucked in a quick breath and looked at him sharply, the truth of my words ringing through me with ferocity. I believed them to be true, and that surprised me most of all.
He looked down at me, his one visible eye darting between mine. “That is not what you said at our wedding breakfast.”
He was correct. I’d told him during the breakfast that it mattered dearly to me to prove to the ton that I was blameless, that my heart and intentions were pure. “No, I did not. I did not feel this way then. I think I have grown a little in the time since we left London.”
“Or perhaps the distance has shown you something I have known all along?”
“What is that?”
He stepped forward and trailed a finger up my cheek and behind my ear, sending a volley of shivers down my neck. “It matters not what others think of us. What matters is how we view ourselves. My good name is intact, and we can sleep knowing we’ve done nothing great to besmirch it. We can hold our heads up with pride and integrity, knowing we’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Well, we did one thing wrong,” I corrected. “Two, perhaps.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. We escaped the ballroom when we should have remained, and we danced alone.”
His green-brown eyes bore into me, and the fierceness of his words rang through his calm, deep voice. “I have thought of that night often in the last few months, and I cannot say I regret any of it.”
“Even the dancing?”
“Especially the dancing,” he confirmed. “If we had not shared that waltz, I might not ever have known of your graceful talent.”
An unladylike guffaw ripped from my throat. “I am anything but graceful. My nerves make that so.”
He looked at me still, the back of his knuckles running over my cheekbone. “In company, yes, you are jittery. Alone? When no one is watching? You are a swan, my love.”
I froze beneath his fingers, my eyes widening like saucers. My love. Had he meant it?
He seemed to react in a similar manner, his knuckles going still. “Liss—”
“Goodness!” Jane said, entering the room with her tall, Scottish husband behind her. “The room you assigned us is lovely, Lissy. I cannot believe this is your home.”
James did not seem to hear them, his gaze remaining locked on mine. I pasted a smile on my face and stepped away, and his hand fell to his side.
“I did warn you of it in my letter,” I said brightly.
Jane’s eyes widened. “I believe you called it a beautiful estate and once mentioned that it was large. I had no idea it was this grand.”
Ewan slid an arm around his wife’s waist. “We didna ken where to find the parlor, so we returned here.”
“If you are anything like me, you will become lost many times before you locate any of the rooms you seek.”
Jane’s cheeks pinked. “Yes, we already have.”
